


magic

by quietdays



Series: bound by broken starts [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, but doesnt bc he cares more about developing the relationship of these two men /j, i cant believe im finally done fr, jeonghan is powerful enough to destroy the universe, told myself ill finish these in a week, two years later here we are........ can u believe it?, we can have a tiny bit of resolution... as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25856872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietdays/pseuds/quietdays
Summary: Lee Jihoon leaves.What's important is what he does next.
Relationships: Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Lee Seokmin | DK
Series: bound by broken starts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1876270
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	magic

**Author's Note:**

> yeah this will not make sense if you do not read does anyone remember since this is the finale :) ! please read it first ! i think its pretty okay for my writing :) shoo go on read it and tear ya heart out
> 
> you will see sooo many quietdays cliche here but thats what im about BABEY! cliches! HELL YEAH!!!! i love u guys so much and thank u for sticking with this fic for two years since the conception thank u so much thank youuuh SOCMUCHHHCHCHCHCH i love u guys💖🥺
> 
> not beta'd or proof read so procced at ya own risk

Saturday evenings are spent in bed. 

It’s a cool night, promotions are over and there is nothing else to worry about. 

This week Jihoon has decided to just exist freely. The AC is turned up to the coldest level, his favorite comforter spread around his bed, Mingyu has been kicked out of his room until further notice and in his arms, the sun that the earth and moon revolves around.

Seokmin is sleeping soundly. Easier and deeper than any kind of sleep he’s ever seen him after promotions. The crease between his eyebrows are gone, his breathing evening out until all he can hear are light snores. He looks at peace, like even the noisiest thunderstorms cannot even disrupt him.

Jihoon moves a strand of his hair in order to see much more clearly his face. He memorizes the crooks and crannies of the other’s face, barely

visibly moles, the arch of his nose, the shape of his lips. He gives him peace.

“Must be a nice dream you’re having.” Jihoon mutters to no one in particular. He closes his eyes and drifts to a dreamless sleep, accompanying the other in the vast nothingness of the world.

Seokmin replies by visiting the demon in his sleep.

* * *

There are unavoidable nights in the studio with the two of them. Jihoon feeling the burden of everything far too much and Seokmin feeling the burden of loving a man who thinks he has the world on his shoulders.

It is inescapable, some of the ugly parts start to leak in and they both cannot help but cry.

Their laying on the studio floor, work forgotten, just staring at the old grimy ceiling that needs to be cleaned sooner or later.

“We’ll make it, right?” Seokmin says. He doesn’t say if he means their upcoming debut or the almost broken vestiges of their relationship cracking even more.

“Yeah,” Jihoon answers and he doesn’t know which question he’ll answer.

“That’s enough for me.” Seokmin replies, a weary smile in his voice. 

Slowly, Jihoon’s hand sneaks into Seokmin’s and they remain intertwined the rest of the night until Jeonghan finds them sleeping on the floor the next morning.

* * *

Seokmin’s voice is high, a tenor that can’t possibly be found anywhere else. A testament of the hours of work put into perfecting it. Hours and hours of singing tirelessly, drinking warm tea to soothe his aching throat.

Jihoon blends his voice into his, adjusting himself and becoming the perfect support to an otherwise already perfect voice.

* * *

It is hard to love a man like him, a man that covets everything unwilling to give anything back and even far more unwilling to recognize his own selfishness. A man too caught up in his own self that he doesn’t want to look at anyone else. He is greedy yet all-encompassing. The kind of lover that suffocates and smothers you until you don’t know where or who you are anymore. 

But Seokmin makes it look easy. Far too easy.

* * *

* * *

Jihoon leaves.

In all universes, he leaves, he _has_ to leave. That’s the catalyst of something new. There is no new thing to be gained by staying. Nothing to be gained by standing over a crying helpless man.

The only difference in all of the universes, is what Jihoon does next.

* * *

Jihoon leaves, strides forward up to Jeonghan’s face and throws a punch at his left cheek that sends the other man into the ground. 

“Fuck!” Jeonghan is on the ground, nursing a bloody nose. “You’ll pay for this, Lee Jihoon.”

Jihoon doesn’t pay him any mind and walks back to Seokmin. He crouches to meet Seokmin’s eyes and holds his wrists.

“Listen.” Jihoon starts, nervousness in his stomach and feeling like his heart could just be vomited at any moment. “I don’t care about who you are or who you aren’t. I don’t care about any of that.”

“Jihoon, didn’t you hear me? I never exist--”

“You do! You fucking do!” Jihoon throws up his hands in exhaustion and rubs one of his hands all over his face in exasperation. “The Lee Seokmin that I fell in love with isn’t the character

you gave me! It’s _you._ It’s always been you.”

“I…” Seokmin trails off, not knowing what to say.

“I know it’s gonna be hard. These are cracks we spent years ignoring until they finally broke but…” Jihoon takes a deep breath. “It’s still salvageable. I _still_ love you.”

“I do too,” Seokmin replies frantically, “I _do_ too, God I love you that it hurts sometimes and and--”

“Seokmin.” Jihoon cuts through it, standing up and offering him his hand. “Do you still want to do this?”

Seokmin considers this for a moment and becomes silent. Jihoon really feels like vomiting his heart out and is scared out of his mind. Five seconds _feel_ like an eternity especially when you’re asking someone you love to try again with you.

Seokmin looks up, determination in his eyes and takes Jihoon’s hands. “The second time's the charm, right?”

Seokmin grins at him and Jihoon cannot help but feel relief throughout his entire body. But before he can do anything, the sound of clapping interrupts them.

“A touching reunion.” The both of them turn around to see Jeonghan smiling madly as he claps slowly. His nose is still bleeding but he looks angrier than ever. The black tentacles of void appear again, slithering frantically. “Too bad you won’t ever leave this place.”

With that, the tentacles rush towards the both of them. Jihoon’s body moves before he can process it, and quickly drags Seokmin into a run, far away from the room.

Their legs ache and they're doing their best to catch their breaths with every step and stride they take forward. But there is no room for stopping, not if they don't want to get caught by Jeonghan.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Jihoon curses under his breath as he runs for his life. His hand is still holding Seokmin tightly, not even budging for a moment lest he be taken by the tentacles. He deeply regrets punching Jeonghan now.

“Left here!” Seokmin screams out from behind him, and Jihoon follows. “Then right!”

The both of them don't even spare a glance at the being chasing after them to most likely kill them. Instead all of their energy is spent on trying to find a way out of this place.

“You know that’s gonna be useless, right?” Jeonghan cackles wildly, his voice turning into something indecipherable to human ears yet understandable to the mind. “I control this place!”

Still, even if everything feels like it’s not doing anything. They run, they still run for their little human lives doing the best that they can to lose the monster chasing them. 

They pass white colored marble that slowly gets tinged with the voidness of black. Grandiose rooms that slowly becomes rotten as Jeonghan's anger influence the state of this realm. Everything withers away, sooner or later it'll be the two of them that become faded, wrinkly and old. 

But they still both run. 

Soon enough, they reach a dead end. A window that goes out to the deep dark void. Jeonghan is corridors behind them, but after some time he will most likely find the both of them and it’s too risky to turn back to find a different path.

“I remember this window.” Seokmin says, “This is where I entered the first time I met Jeonghan.”

“Are you sure?” Jihoon glances at him from the side of his eyes. He looks drenched in sweat, scared out of his life. 

“Yes.” Seokmin says with certainty. “It’s this one.”

Behind them, Jeonghan enters the room, destroying multiple walls as he does so. The two of them look at their backs, still holding hands. Jeonghan regards the two of them and smiles.

“You know, I’m not an awful person.” He starts, bringing a hand to his face. “I’ll let one of you go, if one stays here. As payment for my face.”

“Why would we do that?” Seokmin asks, grasping Jihoon’s hands tighter.

“Well, if you jump.” Jeonghan answers languidly, “You die.”

He cackles loudly when he sees the blood drain away from the two of them as they become pale at the thought of dying. 

Seokmin looks at Jihoon and Jihoon looks at him.

“I’ll stay.” Jihoon chokes out. “I’ve done you more harm than I can possibly do and--”

“No! No! No!” Seokmin interrupts him, anger and frustration in his eyes. “Didn’t you say we’ll try? Didn’t _we_ say we’ll try?”

“But--”

“Jihoon.” Seokmin’s voice breaks. “You don’t have to carry my burdens too.”

Jihoon looks at Seokmin straight in the eye. His hands feeling the warmth of the other and somehow he cannot believe what he’s been through to get to this moment. They both know what needs to be done.

“Okay.” Jihoon replies, and then looks at the void. “Okay.”

And then they both jump.

* * *

* * *

* * *

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Jihoon wakes up with a start.

His heart beating out of his chest, and everything feeling so cold and hot at the same time. The sun strains his eyes and he tries to cover it to no avail with his hands.

His surroundings… feel familiar. Like his own room. On the floor are the pictures of Seokmin he has taken over the years. 

_Seokmin!_ His mind thinks and he quickly looks to his right his heart beating wildly as he prepares himself for the worst and sees--

Seokmin sleeping soundly on his bed. He looks like he’s in the middle of a nightmare and Jihoon quickly wakes him up.

“Seokmin!” He softly says as he gently wakes his boy up. “Wake up.”

Seokmin’s eyes open up in a flash, surprising Jihoon. His forehead is sweaty and he blinks in order to get used to the brightness. He sees Jihoon and his expression quickly turns soft.

“We made it.” He croaks out, “We didn’t die.”

Jihoon can only nod along. Not quite believing if the past things that happened were real or was just a figment of his overactive and stressed imagination. Surely, it’s not that weird to have the same dream as someone else?

His line of thinking is interrupted by a knock on the door, greatly spooking the two of them. The door opens slowly and out pops Jeonghan's head, smiling. This sets the both of them on an edge.

“Woah!” Jeonghan opens the door entirely. In his hand is an icebag that he periodically presses on his left cheek. “You guys sure look like you’ve had a rough night. Seungcheol’s been calling the both of you since nine am.”

He leans back on the door and crosses his free hand. He doesn’t look like the Jeonghan from the other world nor does he act like it, making both Jihoon and Seokmin slump in relief.

“Yeesh, long night?” Jeonghan nods to himself, staring at the photos on the floor. Then he looks up to point at the two of them. “Seungcheol wants to talk to you guys. Something about… relationship manners? I didn’t really care.”

Jeonghan shrugs, gives a tiny salute and walks out of their room, closing the door with one hand and the other one holding the icebag, still pressing on his left cheek.

Silence descends on both of them. No one really knows what to say or if there’s anything to say. They’re both on the bed, blanket still over them.

“You,” Jihoon finally starts. “You have to tell me things, okay? Now that we’re starting over.”

It's not the best. It's rocky, awkward and he's still tiptoeing around it. But it's so much better than the past where they'd both just straight up avoid talking about the problems in their relationship, more focused on the idealized version of it than fixing the broken parts of it. There are so many possibilities after this, maybe they'll break up for real (Jihoon really doesn't want that), maybe they'll actually save it. But nothing's going to happen if they don't take that step.

“Yeah,” Seokmin murmurs, moving closer to him to embrace him and take his scent even more. “You too, okay?”

They fall back into a dreamless comfortable sleep, hands still holding onto each other. Tired out of their minds but still willing to try this out. 

And that’s really more than enough.

(Seungcheol bangs on their door an hour later, waking the both of them up with a start at three pm in the afternoon.)

**Author's Note:**

> TWO YEARS AND WE'RE FINALLY DONE WE'RE FINALLY DONE YEEHAW IM FREE YOU GUYS ARE FREE TOO YAYYY IM NEVER GONNA THINK ABOUT THIS FIC EVER AGAIN THANK YOU ALL THATS A WRAP....
> 
> im so sorry if this seems rushed.... i want to hear ur thoughts... i hope u liked it too bc this fic was really a passion project and also maybe a projection of my own self 
> 
> holler at me: loonatin on twt


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